Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Place to Explore

I appreciate many things about my state and like to share places and favorites with natives and visitors. This week I discovered HAWK RIDGE near Duluth through a book of the same title by Laura Erickson. Despite many visits to Duluth and the North Shore, Hawk Ridge has never been mentioned by anyone I know! Yet it is a hill that overlooks Lake Superior over which twenty species of raptors fly each year in a migratory pattern. Bird watchers estimate their numbers in the thousands! I learned that hawks gather in a thermal, a rising spiral of hot air, and travel together in that pattern to save energy. That group is called a kettle. The author and illustrator (the fabulous Betsy Bowen, who painted in acrylics and drew in ink) cover each raptor in detail, creating a completely engaging book...and planting a seed of interest for a future trip to Hawk Ridge.

2 comments:

  1. this should send bird-lovers flying to their nearest library/bookstore.

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  2. If it's illustrated by Betsy Bowen, it's got to be beautiful!

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